Lady Bug and Flower cookies {little girl birthday}

Spring cookies have been on my brain. It has been SOO cold, and usually once Christmas is over i'm ready for some warmer weather. We've got a ways to go though. 

Here are some spring-y cookies. With cute little lady bugs. For a very cute little lady who turned two. 

Thank you for the order, Chloe!

The Perfect Almond Vanilla Rollout Cookies

This recipe is one that I've created over the last few years while decorating cookies, and is now the only vanilla sugar cookie recipe I use. I love this cookie dough because it holds it's shape well and tastes SO good. Enjoy!!

1. 
   
   
   The Perfect Almond Vanilla Rollout Cookies
   
   Yield approximately 25-30 medium sized cookies
   
   Ingredients:
   
   
   • 2 c. butter (at room temp)
   • 2 c. sugar
   • 2 large eggs
   • 1 tsp. salt
   • 2 tsp vanilla
   • 1/4 tsp almond emulsion or 1/2 tsp. almond extract
   • 5 3/4 c. all purpose flour
   Instructions:
   1. With an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar for 7 minutes on medium speed with the paddle attachment. Beat in eggs just until combined.
   2. Add salt, vanilla and almond emulsion mixing for about 10 seconds on low.
   3. Add in flour and mix until dough is pulling clean from the sides of the bowl. In humid weather add up to 1/4 cup more flour if needed.
   4. Wrap dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least thirty minutes.
   5. Remove dough from the fridge and preheat oven to 325 degrees.
   6. To roll out, put dough on top of parchment paper in between two 1/4" wooden dowels. Then roll out with a roller and cut desired shapes.
   7. Put shapes onto a greased cookie sheet and put in freezer for 10 minutes before baking to prevent spreading.
   8. Bake for 10-13 minutes. Let the cookies cool on a cooling rack.
   9. Decorate! You can find my royal icing recipe here.

Christmas Tree Cookies {personalized}

Can I just brag about myself for a second? So I have NEVER had good handwriting and whenever I get an order to put names or any lettering on cookies it gives me serious anxiety.. nightmares even. Most professional decorators have a kopykake projector that projects the image or LETTERS onto a cookie and all you have to do is trace! It's pretty sweet. 

But  I don't have one of those. I do absolutely everything free hand and sometimes it shows. Especially when it comes to letters. But these came out looking uniform and (here comes the bragging) pretty dang good if I do say so myself! Yay for me ;).... but really. I was pleasantly surprised to see I'm getting better with words. 

One day I'm sure I'll get my Kopykake, but for now I'll keep working on my free hand.  Hope everyone is having a wonderful winter!

Gingerbread House and Gingerbread Girl Cookies

I have so many Christmas cookies that I did weeks (even months) ago and STILL haven't posted. So here are some belated Gingerbread Girls and houses for a sweet little girls birthday party. 

Happy (extra-late) Christmas!